From green flags to whistles

[Lite Beer]

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
From green flags to whistles
Jintana Panyaarvudh
The Sunday Nation

Demonstrators blow whistles to show their opposition to the controversial amnesty bill at the Silom rally on November 6.

BANGKOK: -- With the controversial amendment bill now thrown out of the Senate, the leader of the Business Club for Democracy, Somkiat Homla-or, is turning his attention to political reform

Over the last fortnight, bustling Silom Road in the heart of Bangkok's business district has occasionally been transformed from commercial centre to rally site as thousands of office workers clad in smart dresses and snazzy suits have forsaken their lunchtime noodles to blow whistlesto announce their opposition to the government's controversial amnesty bill.

The Silom whistle-blowing rally was organized by the Business Club for Democracy (BCD) three times overtwo weeks before the Senate on Monday finally killed the bill that would have cleared the way for fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra to return to Thailand as a free man as well as pardoned those facing corruption charges.

The whistle, a simple instrument more often associated with parking attendants and security guards, became popular as a noisy rally tool to demonstrate the protesters feelings about the bill. The club doesn't take credit for the idea though, saying instead that this came from the leader of the Democracy Monument rally, former Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban.

"We adopted it following Suthep's announcement about whistle blowing. It's an easy concept to understand. It's like whistling to warn people that problems are coming at them," says Somkiat Homla-or, the leader of the club.

A veteran of rallies, the whistle isn't the first symbolic tool that his business group has used to make its views known.

Formed in 1997 by leading executives, businessmen, small- and medium-sized firm owners and former political activists involved in the October 14, 1973 uprising, the BCD has between 40 and 50 members. Among the better known adherents are Preeda Tiasuwan, chairman of Pranda Jewellery, an appointed senator and businessman, and political activist Prasarn Maruekapitak.

Somkiat says that the leader of The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship Thida Thawornseth was also once a member of the club.

The BCD first rallied in support of the 1997 charter draft, the so-called people's charter. The green flags they adopted as their campaign symbol back them quickly become a popular emblem and could be seen flying in every corner of the country.

"To us, "green" meant go and "red" meant stop, so we adopted the green for our campaign to push forward the charter draft," Somkiat explains.

The club's next took on former premier Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and his government, who they blamed for not taking appropriate action during the "Tom Yam Kung" financial crisis in late 1997 and for failing to defend the baht against international speculators. The BCD staged a mass rally in front of the head office of Bangkok Bank on Silom Road and refused to budge.

The club also succeeded in protecting the Silom area from being occupied by the red shirt protesters during the 2010 political demonstrations at the Ratchaprasong intersection against former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government.

Somkiat says he thought somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 people would to turn up for the first whistle blowing rally at Silom on November 4 and was amazed at how far the actual number exceeded expectations.

"We are just a handful of rice grains in a sack. We didn't expect to make much of an impact. But I think public felt so frustrated that they needed to show their opposition to the bill," he says.

The former top executive with a leading securities firm adds that the whistle blowing phenomenon merits being called the "Thai Spring", a reference to the Arab Spring, the revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests in the Arab world that began in late 2010.

"The patience of the people has a limit and that limit's been reached. I think they've been frustrated for a long time at the misconduct of the current government and its partisans. The rally issue hit right at the heart of those sentiments," the club leader says.

"Some people have turned their back on political conflicts or have chosen to become what I call 'ignorant Thais'. My wife told me I should do that too but I disagreed so I have make a noise," Somkiat says.

Somkiat gives the credit for the success of the demonstrations to the pure force of the demonstrators and to the social networks, which played a major role in spreading the news and encouraging more people to join the rally.

"Every Thai has his or her own power. We just pointed them in the direction of problem," he says.

The group will continue to monitor the movements of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, which controls the lower House, in case they attempt to revive the bill in 180 days, the period that must elapse before the legislation could be adopted. If that were to happen, they will be ready to blow their whistle again, he vows.

Somkiat also wants to make his voice heard in opposing some of the policies already introduced by Yingluck Shinawatra's government for example, the rice pledging scheme and the Bt300 minimum wage.

"Those policies will damage the country and the economy," he says.

Somkiat and his group are equally opposed to the amendment of Article 190 of the Constitution, which would boost the government’s power to sign international deals without having to seek legislative approval on a negotiating framework.

"It could be a trap that would tie the country to international regulations," he says.

The amendment passed its third parliamentary reading on November 4 and the Constitutional Court will now review it to decide whether it is unconstitutional or otherwise.

Somkiat sees reforms to both the country is run and the way its politicians operate as the best option for the long term. The social structure needs to be changed to make it more equal and fairer, he says.

To this end, Somkiat is serving as a member of 16-person committee of the People Assembly Reforming Thailand which, along with its allies, the People's Army to Overthrow the Thaksin Regime, the Green Politics Group and civic groups from 77 provinces, is determined to bring about reform.

"I believe good democracy will lead to a sustainable economy. As businessmen, we join forces with the rest of the country to protest about misconduct and wrongdoing," the retired businessman says.

-- The Nation 2013-11-17

[FangFerang]

This is democracy in action...whistle blowers, cognitively dissonant, praise the principles of undying democracy gone wild and add yet another straw to the camel's back! Long live such protests seeking asylum in backstepping and backwater corners. Voting is infantile! Seek not coup related quandaries and equivocations. Seek truth!

Truth is all.

[thhMan]

My kids do that at school too

[JeffreyWitty]

Why do they even call them demonstrators when most of the time 99% of them are paid to be there?

Of that 99%, they could care less about the politics as long at they get their 500 baht a day.